"Ladies, we have one last
activity to do before our vacations comes to an end," Sister
Margaret said. "We are going to prepare a play."

These were the last days of the
summer. They could tell by the weather since they could feel the
temperatures were lower than when they first arrived in Scotland.
It seemed as though the summer was gradually telling them goodbye.
In the group of students were Annie, Patty, Elisa and of course,
Candy, among others. Candy knew how to take advantage of the time
and discovered little by little about all the beauties and good
things that this so far away land, unknown to her few months ago,
was offering her.

When Sister Margaret finished her
talk, everybody was very excited about this play, but Candy was
in her own personal magic world… and even if she didn’t
wanted to do it, her mind was flying high thinking about Terry.
They got very close to one other during these vacations, reaching
the deepest of his heart and soul. The problem with his mother,
the lovely evening they spent together when he refused to go to
the White Party just to be with her, the plane incident with her
group of friends… all these things that happened helped them
to get closer.

"Candy? Candy? Miss Candice
White Andley, are you paying attention to my words?" said
Sister Margaret bringing her back to reality

"Don’t get distracted
during the class. I was asking you which group you would like to
join," she explained.

"Groups? Groups for what
Sister?" She had missed everything.

"I can see you didn’t pay
any attention to what I said. For this you are going to get
grounded and you won’t be allowed to come out of the school
today. Miss O’Brian, can you please explain her this is all
about and then you come to me and tell me which group you would
like to join. Ladies, the class has just finished, you can leave,"the
sister said while she picked her books, leaving

"Thank you Sister,"
everybody replied standing up

Patty got close to her and explained
about the play, but Elisa from her seat said aloud,

"Im sure you're going to get
the role of a maid, after all that’s what you are."

"I bet that playing the role of
a maid could be more interesting than playing the one of a noble
Elisa," replied Candy leaving the place.

She looked for Sister Margaret, and
when she found her she apologized for her behavior and asked her
to forget her punishment, with the promise of changing for the
better. The sister remembered. In a few days they would be back
in London and she would forgive her, under one condition: to give
her best in the play. Smiling, Candy said, "Yes!" then
thanked the Sister and left the place running. A few minutes
later, Sister Margaret realized that Candy didn’t tell her
in which group she would be in, but it was too late to call her
back. She had already disappeared.

Candy was resting, sitting on the
branch of a nice tree, thinking about the last activity that
Sister Margaret wanted to organize. What did she know about
acting? She couldn’t even convince Miss Pony that she was
sick when she wanted to stay in bed longer, so how could she
convince her audience? "No, I don’t think I can do it,"
she thought, "but I could be a charmed princess that is
prisoner on the Tower of London, dressed in a beautiful dress
waiting for my prince to come for me." And when she thought
of this, she surprised herself feeling her cheeks getting warmer,
just thinking that Terry could be her prince… "Terry!
He’s my salvation," she said climbing down the tree,
and in a reasonable high she picked a branch and started riding
from one tree to the other in this way. She arrived pretty fast
at the Grandchester’s Villa, but the last branch was loose
and Candy fell to the ground heavily.

She stood up immediately,
complaining to herself and looked everywhere to check that nobody
was looking at her. That landing was the worst one in her landing
history of climbing trees. Once she knew she was alone, she
rubbed her hips. "I’ll tell Terry to fix these trees,"
she thought opening the gate of the Villa to enter the garden.
She walked through it till she found the windows of his room on
the second floor, and once she got there she called out to him.

"Terry! Terry!"

"Hahaha! If you want you can
take some more time, maybe the pain will disappear," said a
voice from the bedroom.

"You saw me?" she said
playing with her fingers.

"I didn’t know that
monkeys could also have those kinds of accidents," Terry
said leaning over his balcony. "What do you want?"

"I need to ask you a favor,"
Candy said.

"A favor? Come in," he
said curiously.

She got into the Villa and waited
for Terry in the living room. Mark’s mother did a great job
in that house. Everything was clean and shiny, but she also had
to remember that Terry wasn’t a little boy after all, so
there weren’t many chances for the place to get dirty. But
her thoughts were distracted by the sudden presence of Terry on
the room.

"What favor do you need from me
Candy?" He asked, leaning himself casually on the frame of
the door with his arms folded.

"Well we are going to have a
school play and as you like the theater so much I thought that
maybe you…" she said playing with her fingers again.

"Do you want me to teach you?"
he said smiling. "Well, my classes are very expensive."

"That is why I’m asking
you this as a favor," she said.

"Mmh, and what do I get for it?"
he asked.

"My eternal gratitude,"
she said bowing to him, smiling.

"What is the story you’re
going to play?" Terry asked, walking towards her.

"Well I don’t know. Maybe
Sister Margaret mentioned the name during class but I can’t
remember it," she explained.

"Pay more attention the next
time.. this is going to be more difficult than I thought,"
he said.

"Why?"

"Because there are different
kinds of stories to be performed in a play. You can use different
techniques, that is why I have to know which one you’re
going to study," he said.

"Aahhh… but we can
rehearse with any story, right?" she said.

"Well if you want we can play
Romeo and Juliet since I have the script here at home," he
said leaning his face close to hers, smirking.

"Terry don’t say that,"
she said walking 2 steps behind.

"All right, I’ll teach you
but you have to promise me that you will do anything I tell you
to do," he said seriously.

"Anything?" she said with
fear.

"You have to trust in your
director. If you don’t trust him nothing good will come out
of it," he said wisely as he knew a lot about this topic.

"All right, I’ll do it but…"
she said, hesitating.

"I promise to behave well
Freckles," he said crossing his heart.

"Do we start now?" she
asked.

"No, I’ll prepare
everything for tonight so come back at 8 o’clock. Be
punctual," he said leaving the room.

Candy went back to school with a
mixture of joy and fear inside of her. Arriving the at Villa at 8
o’clock meant spending some time alone with Terry at night…
maybe it wasn’t a good idea. She decided not to mention a
word about this to her friends.

Before leaving her room for her
special classes, she left some lights on and a message outside
her door that read "I’m studying, do not disturb".
When the halls were empty she left.

She arrived at the Villa at 8 o’clock
She was sure of that. She knocked on the door but nobody answered
or opened. From the outside she could see that everything was
dark inside the Villa and she thought "maybe Terry went out
for a ride?" but then she turned the knob and realized that
the door was opened. "If Terry is not here, I rather prefer
to wait for him inside" she thought.

As everything was dark she guided
herself to the living room with the help of the walls. She opened
the door and went in… everything was as dark as the rest of
the house, but on a second sight something called her attention…
it looked like a cigarette that somebody was smoking. "You’re
late" she heard. It was Terry.

"Why everything is so dark
here? I can’t see anything," she said.

Suddenly a light blinded her eyes,
which she covered immediately.

"You’re in a theater, you
got to get used to it," he said playing with the light that
he was directing right to her

"AAHHH Terry!" she
screamed.

"Silence! Now stand in front of
the fire place," he ordered.

"You forgot to say ‘please’,"
she said looking to the other side.

"Don’t argue with the
director, now to your place," he ordered again.

She didn’t have any other
choice but to obey and walk to where he said while Terry fixed
the light in that position. She could see that all the furniture
were on one side of the room. He was sitting in front of her but
in the back of the room, sitting with one leg over the other and
with the cigar on his right hand.

"Did you find out which play it
is?" he asked.

"No, I didn’t mentioned
this to anyone… I didn’t want them to know that I was
coming here tonight," she said lowly.

"So nobody will miss you if you
don’t go back to school tonight, right?" he said.

She could guess the way he was
looking at her right now.

"If you continue like this I’ll
leave," she said placing her hands on her hips.

"Freckles you should have more
sense of humor. Now show me what you know about theater," he
said.

"If I knew something I wouldn’t
be here."

"Mmh… how difficult…
I know! Stand looking at the wall on your right and face it. Now
lift your right arm as if you were going to pick something,"
he said.

"Like this?" she asked
while looking at him.

"Yes, it’s good. Now put
your left hand on one side of your mouth, as if you were going to
say something," he pointed out.

"Like this?"

"Perfect, now scream
'aahahahahahahahah,'" he added seriously.

"Aaaahahahahaha!" she
screamed.

"Louder!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she
screamed louder, but something made her stop.

Terry was laughing to death on his
seat, looking at that scene.

"What is so funny about this?"
she said upset.

"Now I know that the perfect
role for you is Tarzan. Hahahah!!" He replied.

Candy became so upset that started
walking right to him. He realized this and said, "Stop right
there, it’s perfect."

"What's perfect will be my fist
on your face," she said.

"No, your reaction is perfect.
That is the way you should act in a play if you have to get upset…
to let everything out," he said.

"Really?" she said.

"Yes, you’re doing it very
well," he said relieved when he saw her stopping.

"Take this and put it on,"Terry
said throwing Eleanor’s robe to her. "Let’s see if
you can get some of her spirit with it."

"Alright,"she said going
back to her place putting it on… she could still smell the
French perfume from it.

"Ok, let’s get serious
again. Let’s begin."

From outside the living room door
one could hear a constant: "Again", "Ahh ,Terry!",
"Don’t yell at your director", "Relax your
shoulders… action", "For you it’s easy to say
it, right?", "Repeat it", "Terry let my hand
go", "Learn to move on a stage", "What was I
thinking when I decided to come here?", among other nice
words spoken to each other.

Terry taught her how to show
happiness, sadness, pain, what to do when you forget your lines,
how to help your partner, etc. Many things he knew, but many
things he also invented right at the moment. Of course the
theater was the best thing for him, but he had never worked
seriously or played on a theater even once.

After 2 long hours of teaching and
learning, they were tired and hungry. Terry explained to her that
Mark’s mother had the day off but she prepared the meal for
that night, and invited Candy to have dinner with him. She
accepted. Terry walked to the kitchen while she took off the robe
and put it on the coach that was at a side of the room. Candy was
thinking that it was a good idea to leave soon since it was late
and they were all alone. This last thought made her shudder, but
not from fear… Terry was a nice person and she knew him well
enough to know that he was still a gentleman… but even a
gentleman can do some things without other people’s
permission.

Her memory flew back to those
moments in the May festival… that dance… his intense
eyes on hers… their very first kiss. She never thought that
this young man that was always calling her names and saying not-so-nice
things to her, would be the one opening new doors and giving her
new sensations. Candy’s life has always been a game and even
when she had suffered a lot, her reward came from all her friends
and the people she appreciated and loved. There were times when
she really wanted to leave the school but she felt a lot of
respect towards Uncle William, and this respect stopped her from
doing so. Stear and Archie, Patty and Annie, were always trying
to make her life easier Then Terry came into her life and added
the spice that was missing, which she didn’t realize 0she
needed.

In the darkness of the room she
touched her lips closing her eyes, remembering that special
moment. Will something like that repeat tonight? She wouldn’t
hit him this time… or will she? She also remembered that
time he kissed her forehead tenderly, the day she pretended to
cheat him… but he knew very well how to get close and show
her even for a few seconds how much he cared about her.

She heard "come help me"
and came back to her feet, and leaving her thoughts aside she
replied, "I’m coming".

While they were having dinner, he
started talking.

"My mother is an excellent
actress and even everybody says so, but I’ve never seen her
act."

"No? Why not?" Candy said
taking the bread.

"My father… he always
manipulated my life for so long, making my hate for her grow more
and more," he said.

"Your father is very strange,
he could’ve married your mother," Candy said cutting
the meat.

"Maybe he considered it, but he
couldn’t resist the pressure his family was bearing on him.
He owns a very strong personality, but he’s still a weak man
for some things," Terry replied.

"I see."

"I would’ve loved to spend
some evenings like this one with my mother. Her knowledge on
theater would’ve been her best gift for me!" he said.

"But it’s never too late
for that."

"But she’s back in America
and I don’t know when I will see her again…" he
said lowering his gaze.

Candy noted the sadness on Terry.

"Well, cheer up! Right in front
your eyes you have the new sensation of the theater, the great
Candy!" she said standing up opening her arms, as if she was
prepared to receive an ovation from her public and closing her
eyes.

1

2

3

4

5…

But she never heard the ovation…
even more she didn’t hear any comment from Terry. She opened
her eyes and found the sweetest look from Terry’s eyes, the
sweetest he ever gave her. It is true, in spite of all the
loneliness, anguish and anger that always lived in his heart,
Candy knew how to release him of all those bad feelings with her
special way of treating him. She eased his pains, changed his
mood and even made him smile… something difficult for any
other person, but she was always able to make him feel better.
That villa that always looked so cold and so empty was now full
of her spirit, shining in every corner of that place. If the
ghosts that he told her about some time ago were real, they would’ve
been charmed with her presence too.

Candy found a warm shelter in those
eyes that were as blue as the deepest of the ocean…the same
blue she saw everyday from the ship on her way to London. They
weren’t very close physically. He was in front of her, but
their eyes didn’t notice the distance. Terry couldn’t
keep his eyes from hers, he was exploring her soul through a
couple of emeralds that seemed to have a life on their own and
were shining as the stars on a night of June…

Candy felt herself intimidated…
it seemed he wanted to reach the deepest of her soul and never
leave. But she couldn’t let him do that… she didn’t
like Terry, he was arrogant, egocentric and not very nice…
so she closed her eyes.

Terry felt surprise at her attitude.
"Why did she do it? What the hell, she’s still a little
girl," he said to himself. "Come on let’s finish
with this soon," he said standing up and leaving the room.

Candy knew he got upset for
something, but she also knew that he would forget it soon. She
left her napkin on the table and followed him.

When she got to the room he was
sitting again on his chair, turning the light on again and asking
her to get close to him with a sign of his hand.

"Take. Read and memorized them,
you will act them in 5 minutes," he said giving her some
papers, but keeping one for him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"They are fragments of
different stories that I’ve read and I wrote them down for
you. Remember, in 5 minutes," Terry said.

"And that one?" she said,
pointing to the one left in his hand.

"It’s nothing, now go
studying," he ordered.

Candy sat close to the fireplace and
started reading while Terry left the room. "Where are you
going?" she asked, but received no reply.

After those five minutes he came
back.

"You can keep those papers in
case you forget something, but this is a special case. That's the
only reason why I let you keep them, ok?" he said.

"I understand, thank you,"
Candy replied.

"Action!"

And she began her acting. Terry was
thinking, "She would never be like the members of the
Barrymore family, but I’m sure she will pass the test very
well."

Candy read the 3 dialogues that he
wrote and when she had finished Terry clapped.

"Eh?" she said looking at
him.

"All right Freckles, you’re
almost ready. You learn fast" Terry said.

"Almost?"

"Yes, you need to learn this
one. Take it," he said giving her the piece of paper he kept
for him before.

"This is a dialogue for two
persons, right? But here only my lines appear," she said.

"I’m going to act that one
with you. I already know my lines so go and you learn yours,"
he said.

"Aahh, to be an actress is so
exhausting, specially for my bad memory," Candy was thinking
while she read her new lines.

After some time he got up and got
close to her, took the piece of paper of her hands and threw it
away.

"You won’t need it,"
he said.

"And what if I forget
something?" Candy asked.

"Improvise, and I’ll help
you," he replied.

"Improvise? Well, I’ll do
it," she said.

Candy turned her back to him,
getting into the character. Terry started talking.

"In a time when people have
forgotten about love, we must show them it’s a priceless
treasure."

"I can’t. The Gods of the
Olympus will punish me," she said.

"Ohh… the Gods, those
beings that live so far away from us, but they only have to move
one finger and they are able to move the laces of our destiny,"
he recited.

"So let it be written Sades, a
priestess of the temple can mix with humans," she said.

"You can change your destiny…
go back to your town and when you have the chance, leave to
another country. We will all forget about you if you're not
close," Candy said putting her hands together like praying,
lowering her head

"My destiny will still be the
same. Instead of walking on sand I’ll be walking on clay,
but the thorns of hopelessness will follow me eternally,"
Terry said moving with grace, showing the feeling of his
character

"Go away mortal, Zeus will feel
your presence in this holy place." Candy didn’t forget
any of her lines, Terry’s performance was helping her a lot.

"I’ll leave but just for
today. And if it is written in my destiny to find in my way
somebody that wants me apart from you, I’ll face him."

"Don’t do it for it will
be your death," she said shaking her head.

"Not even the deepness of the
seven seas or the immensity of the desert will keep me away from
you," Terry said.

"Now go. I don’t want to
see the disgrace in your eyes."

"Your rejection is my disgrace.
Oh Priestess, the one that owns my life and my soul. If you feel
rejection towards me, finish my life for even death will be sweet
coming from your hands," he said on his knees, lowering his
head.

"I could never get close to you
to hurt you, not even with my thoughts. Now stand up and go. Zeus
knows you are here," Candy said turning to face him.

Terry stood in front of her, taking
her hands.

"Oh glory, allow me to touch
the silk of your hands, even for a moment," he said.

Candy was getting nervous.

"I can feel the joy in your
soul, mortal," she said closing her eyes, trying to control
her breathing. "May I wonder… How can it be that
someone as simple as I can cause such reaction inside you?"
she said.

"My heart and soul feel such
delight each time I have the gift of sharing one moment close to
you. Oh Priestess, for one look from your eyes, I would kill."

"Don’t do it."

"For your smile, I would die,"
he said getting closer to her.

"Please don’t continue…"

"And just to taste the
softness, warmth and sweetness of your lips…"

"Don’t say it," Candy’s
hands were frozen between Terry’s.

"I could condemn my soul in
hell for eternity."

Terry drew closer to her mouth,
slowly. His eyes were fixed on hers. It was magic, but could it
be the magic of the theater that surrounded them now? Candy asked
to herself, or maybe the softness in his voice that emphasized
every line with a special passion that was the guilt of this
feeling? Every word was cherished by her.

"Please mortal, stop,"
Candy improvised, she didn’t have any more lines on her
script.

"Oh my life, I could face the
predictions of any oracle just for you," Terry said.

"And the Gods?"

"Gods, gods… The gods are
cruel, but I know Venus would help us and protect us under her
aura, and not even Zeus will find us," Terry said.

"Terry stop." She couldn’t
continue improvising, now that she knew he was turning serious
about his lines.

"Who is the one you’ve
just called? Someone who had already drunk the nectar from you?
Someone who had the courage to trespass your purity? Oh, lucky
him that had that joy," Terry stopped in front of her, few
inches from her mouth.

"Terry please," she begged.

"His name again, every time you
call him something dies deep inside of me. Please shut up cruel
Priestess, you’re consuming my life."

"I c… can feel Zeus
getting close to the temple, please go," was all that she
could say.

"Ohhh, the perfume of a Goddess
in a Priestess. Am I loosing my sanity?" Terry asked
smelling her face.

Her hands… remained motionless
inside of his. Terry was away from her mouth but for how long?

"Mortal, you have to accept
your destiny, not challenge it," Candy said.

"Ahhh, those words are knives
to me. To take you out of my life is the same as dying my
beautiful Priestess," he said looking in her eyes again.

"I’m afraid for your life,"
she said.

"Ohh what a joy… you’re
worried about me, a simple and poor low being whose only purpose
is to dedicate his life to you," he said getting close to
her mouth again.

"Terry stop it… we’re
done," she said with difficulty.

"You still need to learn
something," he said inches away from her mouth.

"I don’t think so,"
she replied nervously.

"You have to learn how to kiss
in a play," Terry added.

"But Terry, in my play there
will only be girls and I…"

"You asked me to teach you and
I want you to learn," he replied.

"But…."

"Don’t think in your
partner of the play for what he is, your partner. You have to
think of him as your perfect lover," he said.

"But…"

"The love between the Priestess
and Sades must be represented as it is," he said.

Candy was speechless.

"I know I’ll die if Zeus
finds me, but I’m not worried about that," he said
letting her hands go softly. Instead, he placed his hands on her
hips and slid them up until they rested on her back

"But if you die, I’ll be
damned with my immortality, and while you roam in the land of the
deads…" Candy continued.

"Yes?" he said.

"I’ll be punishing myself
constantly…"

"For?"

"For not appreciating the pure
love of a mortal with the soul of an angel," Candy finally
said, taking a deep breath when she finished this sentence,
closing her eyes.

"My beloved priestess," he
said, kissing her lips softly.

Candy was so involved in the story
and caught by the hypnotizing performance of Terry, which seemed
so… sincere. She didn’t know when, but she responded to
his kiss and while he tasted her, she was tasting his lips.

When their kiss finished, he held
her tight, leaning her head over his heart. Shyly she held him
back.

Suddenly something distracted them.

"Candy! Candy!" Someone
screamed from outside the Villa.

"Who could it be?" she
said separating from Terry.

"I don’t think its Zeus,"
Terry joked.

Both laughed at that. Terry turned
the lights on and walked to the door. It was Annie.

They ran through the woods. The moon
was their only light. When they got close to the school they
decided to slow down catch their breath.

"How did you find out I was
with Terry?" Candy asked.

"Patty and I went to your room
and when we saw your message we couldn’t believe it. Candy
studying? Something’s wrong."

"Hey! I study!" she said
laughing.

"Then we knocked and nobody
replied. We entered and you weren’t there and the only place
where you could be it was Terry’s Villa," Annie said.

"And Sister Margaret?"

She saw us coming out of your room
and she said she wanted to talk to you. Patty told her you were
sleeping but she didn’t believe her. So Patty asked to tell
her the story of a saint while I was in your room waking you up.

Annie changed a lot during all this
time thanks to Candy. Silently they got in Candy’s room. She
fixed her hair and walked to Sister Margaret’s office.

"Sister, you wanted to see me?"she
said opening the door. Patty was inside and breathed when she saw
her coming in.

"Yes Candy, what took you so
long?" she said.

"I was sleeping and well, a
lady usually takes some time to look good in front of others,
right?"

"It wasn’t necessary,"
the Sister said. "Well, I was looking for you because I’ve
a letter from America, and as I know you enjoy reading them I
decided to deliver it to you immediately."

"Thank you, Sister. May I go
back to my room now?"

"Yes Candy you may," she
replied.

"Sister Margaret, I’m also
going back to my room. Thank you for your lesson and good night,"
Patty said.

"Good night, Patricia."

Both girls left the office and went
back to Candy’s room. Annie was waiting for them.

While Candy was reading the letter,
Annie told to Patty what happened and Patty told her she already
knew the lives of all the catholic saints.

Before leaving Annie asked, "Candy,
why were all the lights of the Villa off?"

Candy made up a silly story but the
girls didn’t believe it.

………

The next day after class, Candy was
resting under a tree near the lake, whispering to herself and
thinking about Terry. She heard the noise of footsteps near and
when she turned her face she saw him sitting next to her.

"Hi, Terry."

"Did you have problems last
night?" he asked.

"No, she just wanted to give me
a letter," Candy replied.

"A letter? From whom?"

"From Pony’s. I’m
sorry, I didn’t have time to thank you for what you did last
night Terry. Now tell me, what is the name of the play we did?"
she asked.

"There is no such story, I made
it up," he replied.

"Really?"

"Yes, some time ago I read
Homero and loved Greek mythology almost immediately, that’s
why I prepared that especially for you," he said.

"Ah! I thought you took it from
some book. I wanted you to lend it to me… I liked the story,"
she said, avoiding his eyes.

"Well if you want I can write a
second part and invite you to rehearse it. What do you think?"
Terry said with a seductive smile.

"Eh… no… it’s
not necessary," she replied nervously.

Terry just smiled.

"And how is your play?" he
asked.

"Sister Margaret will give us
the script tomorrow, and then I’ll tell you more about it.
Now I have to go. The others and I are going out on a picnic. Do
you want to come?" she said, inviting him while she stood up.

"No thank you. You know I don’t
like to socialize with the others," he replied.

"Well then, see you here
tomorrow?" she said.

"Is that a date?" he joked.

"Terry don’t be silly, bye!"
she said leaving, but he made her stop.

"Candy…"

"Yes?"

"I forgot to tell you how much
I enjoyed last night's rehearsal, especially since you didn’t
hit me this time," he said smiling.

"I don’t know what you’re
talking about, bye!" was her only answer, and finally
leaving this time.

Terry remained there thinking about
Candy… "She’ll never change," he thought.

………

On the next day..

"Ladies, these are the stories
that you will have to represent in the play. As we don’t
have much time you will only have to memorize the pages I already
marked. I am officially inform you that we are going back to
London on Sunday, so the deadline for the play is Friday. I think
2 days are enough," said the Sister.

"Two days?" Everyone
chorused.

"Yes, you will all have to stay
here studying till Friday, not even special permissions for
leaving the school will be given, did you hear that Miss Andley?"

"Yes Sister," she said
lowly.

"Well, I’m leaving so you
can organize and study," she said. "Good afternoon
ladies."

"Good afternoon, Sister,"
they replied.

In group A was Elisa and her
friends, and in group B Candy and company. Both groups went apart
immediately. Candy took the script and laughed when she saw it.

She wouldn’t be able to meet
Terry as they agreed, but she would manage a way to send him a
message telling him that the play will be on Friday night and she
was expecting to see him there.

………..

It was Friday night. A small stage
was built on the gardens of the school. As every year the people
of the town, the rest of the Sisters and any other person that
wanted to see the plays were invited and welcome.

At 8 o’clock everyone sat in
their places. Terry was also there, sitting with Stear and Archie.

They drew a contest and Candy’s
group was the first one to perform the story. Sister Margaret
stood in front of the public, thanked them for their presence and
then proceeded to present the story. "The first group will
represent the life of Joan of Arc, a martyr on God’s service".

Terry couldn’t help but laugh
when he heard about it. Sister Margaret called his attention with
her look, but then the lights went off.

So there was Candy representing Joan
of Arc. In spite of all, she was the one that made the best
performance of both groups. At the end of the story when she was
tied up in the middle of the bonfire, she looked at the people on
the public until she found the one she was looking for. Terry
closed one eye to her and she replied in the same way. Elisa, on
one side of the stage took note of that exchange and couldn’t
stand it. She really wanted to go and set Candy on fire, but she
wasn't able to do it.

When Candy's group finished
everybody clapped at them, especially for Candy’s
performance. Everyone was surprised at the way she represented
such a difficult character.

And then there was on the stage
Elisa’s group. They had to represent Maria Magdalene’s
story. Elisa insisted she had to be the protagonist and after
some rude words to her friends they accepted. The first problem
were the clothes she had to use. She didn’t want to dress
with rags so for the first time, Maria Magdalene was dressed in
an elegant dress with jewels on stage. There wasn’t much to
say about her performance. She forgot her lines and over acted a
lot of times. When they were finished they received just a cold
clapping from the public.

Sister Margaret got on stage again
and told good night to the people that assisted that night, and
they left the place till it was empty.

Inside the school Sister Margaret
has prepared a cocktail for the students, giving the last goodbye
to those vacations. Now they had to pack everything to travel to
London on Sunday.

……….

It was Saturday and Candy wanted to
see Terry, but the girls insisted on taking a last ride through
Scotland before going back. Stear and Archie were waiting for
them so she just had to ask "can I invite Terry?" The
girls looked at each other and smiled.

"Did I say something funny?"
Candy asked.

"No, we were laughing because
we knew you were going to ask that question," Patty said.

"Look, Stear and Archie are
waiting for us, so we can go and pick up Terry then,"Annie
said.

They left their rooms and the boys
were waiting for them. The girls were dressed in some beautiful
dresses and hats. They went up and closed the door.

"Hi Candy," Archie said.

"To Terry’s house, right?"
Stear said.

"Eh?" Candy asked
surprised. "How did you know?"

"We just have to look the
expression on your face when somebody mentions his name, or the
way you both closed your eyes last night, or not?" Stear
said.

"You saw me?" Candy said,
as red as a tomato.

"Everybody, even Elisa,"
Archie said.

And like this, while enjoying a nice
conversation they arrived to the Villa. Candy went down and
dragged Terry out of the house against his will.

"Candy if you want we can go
out, but not with them," he said trying to release himself.

"Come, Terry they are your
friends and they miss you. Hey," Candy said getting up again.
"Terry is glad to join us."

"Good," they said.

He just gave her a "we’ll
talk later" look, but the group was so funny that he forgot
about it a few minutes later. He was their guide during the tour
since he already knew the place.

They had lunch, visited some
museums, a fair, and in the afternoon when the sun was about to
leave, they arrived at a nice and lovely park, with ducks and all.
They asked the driver to stop the horses and then they went down.
The boys went first to help the girls.

Once outside, they just looked at
each other with an expression of "what to do now?" even
though they had some idea. Terry took the first chance.

"Would you like to go around
the park with me?" he said to Candy and she replied
affirmatively

In this way they got apart from the
group, then Stear and Archie did the same. The three couples went
around the place taking different roads.

Terry and Candy were walking on a
pretty place until they arrived at one of the small lakes with
ducks. There they stopped and looked at them.

"I could hear last night the
way you laughed when you knew the story we were going to play. I
knew you were going to react in that way," Candy said.

"Sure Joan Freckles of Arc, how
could I avoid laughing when I found out?" he replied.

"So, what do you think of my
acting?" she asked.

"You received that answer last
night from the people. They clapped a lot for you, even more than
for the rest," he said, smiling.

"Well, I owe all this to my
teacher," she said, kidding.

"The teacher wants a reward,"
he said.

"I already thanked you."

"You know what I mean. Come on,
let me kiss Joan of Arc," he said with a seductive voice.

"Mmh, close your eyes,"
she said, smiling.

Terry did as she said and got his
lips ready for kissing, but suddenly he felt something that wasn’t
Candy's lips on him.

"What is this?" he asked ,
moving away from her.

"It’s a card of Joan of
Arc. Sister Margaret gave it to me last night and as you wanted
to kiss her… but I’m not sure you’re her type of
guy," she said, laughing.

"Ahh Candy! This is the second
time you did this to me," Terry said.

She smiled like a girl who had just
done a bad thing, but this time she didn’t run away, she
stayed by his side. Terry was ready to chase her around the place
but was surprised when saw her remain there.

"Terry we’re going back to
London tomorrow and I wanted to thank you for the wonderful
summer we spent together. This has been the best vacation of my
whole life."

They looked at each other. Candy
moved closer to him, stood on tiptoes and kissed Terry’s
cheek, causing her hat to fall down.

It wasn’t the kiss he was
waiting for, but he knew that this one symbolized all the love
she felt for him even though she never admitted it. After that
kiss, she gave him a pretty smile.

Stear called them, telling that they
had to leave. Terry picked Candy’s hat and put it back on
her head while fixing her hair under it. He told Stear that he
already heard him and they were going on the way back. Then Terry
took Candy’s hand and walked back, knowing that this will be
the only time they could walk like this… the Academy was
waiting for them in London with all their strict rules.